M&A Deal Summary

Dart Container Acquires Solo Cup

On March 21, 2012, Dart Container acquired manufacturer Solo Cup from Ridgemont Equity Partners and Vestar Capital Partners for 1.0B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Dart Container’s 1st transaction in the Manufacturing sector.
  • This is Dart Container’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Dart Container’s 1st transaction in the United States.
  • This is Dart Container’s 1st transaction in Illinois.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2012-03-21
Target Solo Cup
Sector Manufacturing
Buyer(s) Dart Container
Sellers(s) Ridgemont Equity Partners
Vestar Capital Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 1.0B USD
Advisor(s) Goldman Sachs
Evercore Group (Financial)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Legal)

Target

Solo Cup

Lake Forest, Illinois, United States
Solo Cup Company is focused on the manufacture of single-use products used to serve food and beverages for the consumer/retail, foodservice and international markets. Solo has broad product offerings available in paper, plastic, foam, post-consumer recycled content and annually renewable materials, and creates brand name products under the Solo®, Sweetheart® and Bare™ by Solo® names. The Company was established in 1936 and has a global presence with facilities in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Panama and the United States.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Dart Container

Mason, Michigan, United States

Category Company
Founded 1960
Sector Manufacturing
Employees15,000
Revenue 3.0B USD (2019)
DESCRIPTION

Dart Container Corporation manufactures more than 600 products and has facilities throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom. It also has UV-curable ink manufacturing, machinery manufacturing and polymer production facilities. Its headquarters are in Mason, Michigan, where the company was founded in 1960.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Manufacturing) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 1
State (Illinois) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 1 of 1
Year (2012) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1

Seller(S) 2

SELLER

Ridgemont Equity Partners

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1993
PE ASSETS 7.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Ridgemont Equity Partners is an independent private equity firm specializing in middle-market buy-outs, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations and growth capital investments. The Firm targets to invest in companies located in North America, preferably in US and Canada. REP looks to invest up to $500 million in companies with EBIDTA of $5 - $50 million. The Firm seeks to hold both majority and minority equity interest in portfolio companies. Specific areas of interest include basin industries and services, energy, healthcare, telecommunications, media and technology. Ridgemont Equity Partners is a spun-off of Banc of America Capital Investors (BACI). Ridgemont Equity Partners was formed in August 2010 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 54 of 91
Sector (Manufacturing) 4 of 5
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 22 of 36
State (Illinois) 2 of 5
Country (United States) 46 of 80
Year (2012) 3 of 5
Size (of disclosed) 9 of 23
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-01-03 NPC International

Overland Park, Kansas, United States

NPC International is a Pizza Hut franchisee in the United States with approximately 790 stores. NPC International operated stores in 26 states with significant presence in the Midwest, South and Southeast. NPC International was founded in 1962 and is based in Overland Park, Kansas.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-06-12 AccessMD Urgent Care

Clayton, Ohio, United States

AccessMD Urgent Care is an urgent care provider in the Midwest with clinics in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Northern Ohio, and Michigan. Experienced physicians and staff provide the compassion and quality care patients deserve to start feeling better fast. AccessMD is a full-service urgent care center with on-site X-rays, labs, EKGs and prescriptions. Comprehensive care includes treatment for all minor illnesses, such as colds, the flu, coughs, infections, sports and work injuries, minor fractures, lacerations, minor burns, and many other non-life-threatening illnesses. AccessMD Urgent Care was formed in 1996 and is based in Clayton, Ohio.

Buy -
SELLER

Vestar Capital Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1988
PE ASSETS 11.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Vestar Capital Partners is a private equity firm that targets management buyouts and growth capital investments across North America and Europe in the consumer, business services, and healthcare sectors. The Firm looks to invest $50 to $150 million in transactions valued up to $1 billion. Specific areas of interest include food, apparel, household goods, retail, consumer services, industrial services, information services, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, financial services, media/communications, digital health media, and medical technology. Vestar Capital Partners was formed in 1988 and is based in New York City.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 44 of 66
Sector (Manufacturing) 4 of 5
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 18 of 28
State (Illinois) 3 of 5
Country (United States) 35 of 53
Year (2012) 1 of 4
Size (of disclosed) 9 of 21
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2011-09-20 International Asset Systems

Oakland, California, United States

International Asset Systems is a provider of cloud-based solutions for global logistics and transportation management. IAS serves providers of global transportation, focusing on first- and last-mile landside movement for logistics service providers, motor carriers, ocean carriers, railroads and equipment lessors.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-05-30 Altium Packaging

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Altium Packaging is a customer-centric packaging solutions provider and manufacturer. Altium specializes in customized mid- and short-run packaging solutions, serving a diverse customer base in the pharmaceutical, dairy, household chemicals, food/nutraceuticals, industrial/specialty chemicals, water, and beverage/juice segment. Altium Packaging is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sell $800M